SITA Airport Innovation
Technology developed in LI lab
BY CLAUDE SOLNIK
In a far-ranging tour of what’s new
and what could very well be next ,
SITA CEO Barbara Dalibard on Aug.
30 gave a glimpse of technology the
company is deploying and developing
at airports and airlines in New York
and around the world.
The global company is rolling out
biometrics used rather than documents,
helping airports and airlines
obtain and analyze a wide range of
data in real time and even creating
virtual images or digital twins of terminals
that can be used to track traffic
and operations.
With biometrics, passengers who
have their photograph taken can travel
through the airport without having to
present documents, using their face
as identification much the way fingerprints
once were used.
SITA is even working on a product
that would let it identify luggage by using
computer vision technology, tracking
a bag by its physical characteristics
rather than bag tags.
“With biometrics, you can use
your face as a token. We’re looking at
whether we can do something similar
with baggage,” Anthony Natale,
SITA’s vice president of Northeast
United States and Canada, said. “Baggage
has unique blemishes and markings.
Imagine if we had computer vision
looking at a bag at various points
along its journey to identify that bag
on its path, providing updated information.”
While technology has long been
touted in aircraft, SITA is at the forefront
of efforts to increase efficiency
on the ground, helping airports and
airlines obtain, analyze and manage
data.
Dalibard and other SITA executives
spoke at a product development
and showcase site in Bohemia, near
New York City, giving a tour of products
in a setting designed to simulate
an airport.
The company showed a handful of
reporters products being used to better
manage facilities and flow and
what could be in store for the future.
“We renovated the building to host
customers here and show the new
technologies, developing and testing
and trying them,” Dalibard said. “We
plan to invite more customers here to
showcase technology.”
She spoke near a high-tech SITA
Self Bag Drop system that uses biometrics
to identify passengers, as well
as in front of the backdrop of a bright,
bold digital video wall showing flight
status.
Boarding displays in the showroom
easily change from one airline’s name
20 AIRPORT VOICE, OCTOBER 2019
to another and broadcast messages
through speakers that modulated volume
based on ambient sound.
A touch screen in a separate room
called the “Dream Theater” or the
“Dream Room” displayed a “digital
twin” or a three-dimensional rendering
of Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport,
where operations staff can access
a wide range of data at their fingertips.
Why do airports and airlines want
and how can they benefit from more
information? “The number of passengers
is expected to double,” Kevin
O’Sullivan, lead engineer at SITA
Lab, said near the digital twin image
packed with information. “The capacity
within airports is growing very
slowly. We need to effectively manage
the terminal and operations proactively
with data”
Industry estimates predict about
100 percent passenger growth and 5
percent airport capacity growth by
2039, which could drive the use of technology
to fill the growth gap.
“The overall capacity at airports
will not grow by more than 5 percent,”
Dalibard added. “The issue of congestion
at airports is critical. How can
you match these two numbers and provide
the passenger with a good experience?”
Technology, efficiency and a greater
reliance on self-service are all part of a
digital revolution on the ground as airports
enter a more digital age.
“We have to use technology to enable
those airport facilities to be as
efficient and effective as possible to
manage that volume of increased passengers,”
Natale said. “At the same
time, there’s the need to make the process
of air travel quicker, easier, safer
and hassle-free to enhance the passenger
experience and increase customer
loyalty.”
SITA showcased its AirportConnect
Open platform, allowing check in
and boarding gates to shift from one
airline to another. This is being use
at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s
Terminals 4, 5 and 8, LaGuardia
Terminal B and Newark Terminal B.
“Many of our systems are used at
LaGuardia, including airport management
solutions to manage physical
resources, such as gate allocations and
the airport operations data base,” Natale
said. “Our local Long Island Macarthur
Airport is currently deploying
our fight information displays and
public announcement systems.”
SITA is a multi-national company
with its Americas headquarters in
Atlanta that serves more than 200
countries and territories with offices
spanning the globe and about 1,200 employees,
or just under a third of its total,
VP Sales Anthony J. Natale, CEO Barbara Dalibard, President Diana Einterz.
in North America and about 4,700
worldwide.
Those include 250 in Latin America,
with its biggest U.S. location in
Atlanta with more than 800 employees.
Merchant Aviation expands in U.S.
Terminal planning at JFK AA
Mechant Aviation, a member
Groupe ADP is expanding its reach
into U.S.markets as part of Groupe
ADP by winning several Contracts
in the United States for Consulting
and Airport Planning Services .
American Airlines has chosen Merchant
Aviation team to provide a
creative and innovative terminal
planning and conceptual design of
terminal 8 JFK Airport. Merchant
Aviation will be developing both
the strategic plan and the conceptual
design linked to the terminal
8 expansion, while improving passenger
experience and providing
operational and safety efficiency.
The enhanced terminal facility will
be commissioned in 2022.
Westchester Airport in White
Plains has also chosen Merchant
Aviation to provide a comprehensive
picture of the economic value
and environmental impacts of the
airport both on and off-site, and
a new vision for the airport as a
transportation resource.
Merchant Aviation is a full-service
aviation consulting firm focusing
on Airport Development initiatives
with innovative, holistic
solutions for today’s result-oriented
aviation decision makers. Our principals
have worked at more than 50
airports around the world. Their
experience includes strategic visioning,
airport planning, design
and construction, airline operations
and financial feasibility studies.
Some of Merchant’s projects include
Newark Liberty International
Airport Long-term redevelopment
plan, JFK Cargo Master Plan, LGA
Terminal Replacement project,
San Francisco Domestic Terminal
Redevelopment Plan, Newark Terminal
A Replacement Program,
Dallas-Fort Worth International
airport, long-term redevelopment
plan, Seattle-Tacoma New International
Arrivals Facility Planning
Study, JFK Aeronautical Area Improvement
Program, among many
others.
Each team member, some of
which held executive positions at
the PANYNJ and FAA, brings over
30 years of diverse experience working
with Airlines, Airports and
Regulatory agencies. This experience
translates to an acute understanding
of navigating the multifaceted
relationships between FAA,
airports, airlines and the passengers
they serve.